U.S. Justice Department

News about U.S. Justice Department, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 2, 2015

Justice Department prepares to release highly critical report accusing Ferguson, Mo, police department of discriminatory policing culture that created deep racial animosity in years leading up to shooting death of Michael Brown; report finds that city disproportionately ticketed and arrested African Americans, using fines to balance its budget; findngs will force officials to either negotiate settlement or face civil rights charges. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

Morgan Stanley announces it has reached $2.6 billion settlement with Justice Dept over sale of mortgage securities in advance of financial crisis; settlement is blow for bank as it has struggled to improve its profitability and has lagged behind competitors. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Justice Dept closes investigation into 2012 killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida without filing hate-crime charges against shooter George Zimmerman; decision to not indict Zimmerman comes as blow to Martin's parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin and to civil rights movement centering around Martin's death and subsequent deaths of other young black men. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Justice Dept asks United States District Court Judge Andrew Hanen for an emergency stay that would put on hold his decision that temporarily blocked Pres Obama’s executive actions on immigration; says decision threatens national security. MORE

Feb. 16, 2015

Lawyers who have helped bring down big Wall Street targets are leaving public service for private law firms, but prosecutors say hungry talent is filling the gap. MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

The Justice Department is demanding that some of Wall Street’s biggest banks plead guilty to criminal charges that they manipulated the prices of foreign currencies. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and 21st Century Fox say Justice Department will not prosecute them over phone hacking and payments to public officials, actions perpetrated by their reporters in London. MORE

Feb. 1, 2015

As part of a $1.37 billion settlement, S.&P. is expected to say it never found evidence of retaliation for cutting the credit rating of the United States. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

Loretta E Lynch, top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, appears before Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on her confirmation as United States attorney general; questions on Republican-controlled committee are cordial and show little opposition to her; criticism of Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr, however, dominates hearing. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

WikiLeaks lawyers say they are considering legal action against United States government and Google after learning that Justice Department, in March 2012, had seized company's data associated with accounts of three journalists who work for whistle-blowing organization. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Investigation into fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice finds series of miscommunications, errors and systemic failures on part of Cleveland police created unstoppable cascade of events ending with tragedy; earlier episodes of abuse by police had led Cleveland and Justice Dept to agree to carve out consent decree tightening use-of-force policies and subject city police to oversight by a monitor but many reforms were never maintained. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

Investigation by FBI finds no evidence to support civil rights charges against police officer Darren Wilson, who shot teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo, and Justice Dept recommends against prosecuting Wilson; Atty Gen Eric Holder emphasizes that investigation was independent from that conducted by Missouri authorities, who reached similar conclusion; broader civil rights inquiry into racial profiling is still underway. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

Editorial welcomes Justice Department's end to its attempt to force New York Times reporter James Risen to testify in whistle-blower case and its revision of guidelines on leak investigations; holds developments are still late in coming, and not really enough; calls for strong federal shield law helping reporters who protect identity of their sources. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

Justice Dept reveals prior existence of Drug Enforcement Administration database that had contained American telephone records, adding new details to disclosures about mass government surveillance. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr fortifies protection of journalists' phone records, notes or emails in revisions to rules concerning how and when prosecutors can subpoena journalists; Holder first began reviewing news media guidelines in 2013, and in 2014 made it significantly more difficult to demand records, notes or emails from news organizations. MORE

Jan. 12, 2015

On television and in the courtroom, the credit rating agency has waged war against a Justice Dept. lawsuit. But behind the scenes, it wants nothing more than to buy peace. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department recommend bringing felony charges against retired Gen David H Petraeus for providing classified information to former mistress Paula Broadwell while he was CIA director; Petraeus denies allegations and shows no interest in plea deal. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

Justice Dept accuses Dr Asad Qama of Ocala, Fla, one of nation's top-billing doctors, of performing unnecessary procedures on cardiac patients; he collected more than $18 million in payments from Medicare in 2012. MORE

Dec. 30, 2014

Documents turned over to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington relating to FBI inquiry into former Sen John E Ensign show more brazen side to Ensign's actions; also show decision by Justice Dept not to file criminal charges against Ensign were due to fears of losing public corruption case in wake of other high-profile failures; Ensign was investigated for attempting to secure lobbying work for former aide Douglas Hampton, with whose wife he had had an affair. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

Editorial urges Justice Dept to request that all judges on federal appeals court for Second Circuit review court's decision overturning insider trading convictions of hedge fund managers Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson; warns that ruling, as it stands now, allows greater leeway for trading on inside information and makes it more difficult to prosecute insider trading. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

An agreement to sell Biomet, a medical device maker, to Zimmer Holdings for $13.35 billion may be complicated by reports that Biomet helped bribe officials in Mexico and Brazil. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

Editorial expresses optimism that decision by the Justice Department to join pending class-action lawsuit against New York City Corrections Department will speed up Rikers Island reforms and punish those guards who have contributed to violence at prison. MORE

Dec. 5, 2014

Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr says almost two-year civil rights probe into Cleveland Police Department has found pattern of 'unreasonable and unnecessary use of force' by officers; city has been in turmoil over fatal shooting of 12-year-old African-American boy Tamir Rice by rookie police officer. MORE

Dec. 5, 2014

Loretta E Lynch, top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, will be leading investigation into police chokehold death of Eric Garner, which could complicate her nomination as attorney general; she is undergoing scrutiny in new Republican-controlled Senate. MORE

Dec. 5, 2014

Justice Department's decision to open a civil rights investigation into chokehold death of Eric Garner raises hopes that federal government will obtain an indictment where Staten Island prosecutors failed; legal experts caution that federal prosecutors will face significant challenges in proving that Officer Daniel Pantaleo used unreasonable or excessive force, or that he willfully deprived Garner of his civil rights. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Staten Island grand jury votes not to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo in death of Eric Garner; protesters across New York City take to streets; Justice Department announces that it will open civil rights inquiry; chart with photos of other fatal police encounters in New York City. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Loretta E Lynch, top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn who is awaiting hearing on her nomination to be next attorney general, has made past remarks about 'broken trust' between African-Americans and law enforcement; her comments could put her at odds with some law enforcement groups, who say Obama administration has unfairly cast police in bad light after Ferguson, Mo, police shooting. MORE

Nov. 20, 2014

Justice Dept reports that it collected record $24.7 billion in penalties from fraud and other cases in 2014 fiscal year as fines against banks for financial misconduct soared. MORE

Nov. 17, 2014

This summer, federal prosecutors were said to be close to filing a lawsuit. But the acting United States attorney for the Central District of California has had lingering questions about the litigation. MORE

Nov. 12, 2014

Nov. 11, 2014

Editorial calls on the current Congress for a prompt confirmation process of Loretta Lynch as nation's next attorney general; warns prolonged delay could open door for political mischief in the next Congress, while leaving Justice Department uncertain about its next boss. MORE

Nov. 7, 2014

Heart implants maker Biotronik agrees to pay $4.9 million to resolve Justice Department claims that it paid kickbacks to physicians to use its devices; settlement follows whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former Biotronik employee Brian Sant. MORE

Nov. 5, 2014

Conservative legal activist Larry Klayman is urging federal appeals court in Washington to strike down the National Security Agency’s program that collects Americans’ phone records in bulk; Justice Dept insists that the once-secret program is designed only to identify terrorists and their associates. MORE

Nov. 4, 2014

Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency say Hyundai and Kia, owned by the Hyundai Motor Group, will pay a combined $300 million for overstating their fuel-economy standards on 1.2 million cars; action is part of broader, more aggressive enforcement by federal regulators on auto industry and is largest-ever penalty for violation of Clean Air Act. MORE

Nov. 1, 2014

Justice Department reaches settlement with City of Albuquerque over excessive use of force by its police department; under agreement, independent monitor will be installed to oversee sweeping set of reforms at department for at least two years. MORE

Oct. 31, 2014

Push for more alternatives to incarceration has become a top issue for United States Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr as he enters his final months in office; programs offering counseling and supervision, rather than prison terms, are widely used in state courts but have not caught on at federal level. MORE

Oct. 30, 2014

Attorney General Eric H Holder Jr says there is a need for 'wholesale change' in Ferguson, Mo's beleaguered police department, as range of state officials privately debate future of department and its leadership; town awaits return of grand jury that has been weighing whether charges should be brought in fatal shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson. MORE

Oct. 30, 2014

Editorial supports Atty Gen Eric Holder Jr's new guidelines addressing search warrants of reporters’ records but holds wording needs to be clarified; points out guidelines include some valuable changes, but also contain central flaw that requires prompt correction. MORE

Oct. 22, 2014

Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr's success in reversing the Bush administration’s emphasis on trying terrorism suspects in secret prisons or at offshore military tribunals may be one of his most significant achievements. MORE

Oct. 17, 2014

Oct. 15, 2014

Justice Department files 17 additional charges against Ahmed Abu Khattala, Libyan man suspected of being the ringleader in 2012 attack on American diplomatic outpost that killed four Americans, including Ambassador J Christopher Stevens; some of the charges make Khattala eligible for death penalty. MORE

Oct. 10, 2014

Court documents from 2011 reveal a lengthy court fight between Fox News reporter Mike Levine and the Justice Department over whether he could be forced to reveal his sources for article about Somali terrorism. MORE

Oct. 9, 2014

United States steps up fight to block Americans from traveling abroad to join Islamic State extremist group; Justice Dept worries that these fighters will become radicalized on the battlefields of Syria and return to the United States to carry out terrorist attacks. MORE

Oct. 6, 2014

Around a dozen major banks are being investigated after being accused of colluding to set currency levels, and several are expected to plead guilty. MORE

Sep. 30, 2014

Joe Nocera Op-Ed column argues Justice Department has largely failed to prosecute cases stemming from financial crisis, despite claims of outgoing Attorney General Eric H Holder Jr; argues that Holder's legacy is a mixed bag, but that his actions in relation to financial fraud have amounted to little more than public relations. MORE

Sep. 26, 2014

Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr is resigning from his post, leaving Obama administration with an election-season scramble to find his replacement; was nation's first African-American attorney general, and provoked ire of Republicans as Obama's chief liberal warrior; although there are several frequently mentioned candidates to replace Holder at Justice Dept, confirming his successor could be a political nightmare. MORE

Sep. 26, 2014

United States Atty Gen Eric H Holder sought to emulate his hero Atty Gen Robert F Kennedy as he made civil rights centerpiece of his six-year tenure leading Justice Dept; Holder also resembles Kennedy in that he has frustrated and confounded even his staunchest allies for his views on civil liberties. MORE

Sep. 26, 2014

Editorial assesses Attorney General Eric Holder Jr's legacy, in light of his decision to resign; contends that while Holder has staked out strong and laudable legal positions on some of most contested issues in modern American society, his record is marred by role Justice Dept played in matters of secrecy and national security under his leadership. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

Navajo Nation will receive $554 million after agreeing to end its claim that the federal government mismanaged tribal resources for more than 50 years; settlement outlined by Justice Department is largest obtained by American Indian tribe from federal government. MORE

A Justice Department report will accuse the police in Ferguson, Mo., of making discriminatory traffic stops of African-Americans that created racial animosity leading up to an officer’s shooting of a black teenager, law enforcement officials said.

Mr. Wolf, Republican of Virginia, asked the Justice Department to examine if its rules need to be clarified to address whether think tanks that take donations from foreign governments are acting as “foreign agents.”

Following two weeks of images from protests in Ferguson, Mo., where police officers deployed military gear and equipment to quell unrest, President Obama ordered a review of several federal programs that provide money and equipment to local police.